Libya armed group leader among dead in Tripoli clashes: media

Overnight clashes in Libya’s capital killed at least six people, an emergency medical service said Tuesday, with local media reporting that an armed group leader was among the dead.

Heavy arms fire and explosions were heard in several areas of Tripoli from 9:00 pm (1900 GMT) on Monday as violent clashes between rival armed groups rocked the capital.

“Six bodies have been retrieved from the sites of clashes around Abu Salim” in Tripoli, the Emergency Medicine and Support Centre said.

Six bodies retrieved from sites around Tripoli

Reports said Abdelghani al-Kikli, leader of the Support and Stability Apparatus (SSA) which controls the southern district of Abu Salim, was killed, with unverified images of his body circulating on social media.

The reports said he was shot at a base of the rival 444 Brigade while attending a meeting for mediation.

Libya expert Jalel Harchaoui said on social media that Kikli was likely ambushed at the base, citing a relative of the SSA leader.

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Harchaoui described Kikli as among Tripoli’s “most successful armed group leaders”, with an “ability to outmanoeuvre Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah”.

The 444 Brigade, which controls other parts of southern Tripoli, is aligned with Dbeibah.

Libya is struggling to recover from years of unrest following the NATO-backed 2011 uprising that led to the overthrow and killing of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

2011 NATO-backed uprising

The North African country is currently divided between a UN-recognised government in Tripoli led by Dbeibah and a rival administration in the east, controlled by the Haftar family.

Local media said clashes also broke out in the southern suburbs between armed groups from Tripoli and rivals from Misrata, a major port city 200 kilometres (125 miles) east of the capital.

Authorities had urged residents to stay indoors before saying several hours later that the fighting had been brought under control.

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The Tripoli-based government on Tuesday said a “military operation” to restore “security and stability” in the capital had been successful.

Dbeibah, in a post on social media platform X, thanked government forces “for restoring security and asserting the state’s authority in the capital”.

“What was accomplished today shows that official institutions are capable of protecting the homeland and preserving the dignity of its citizens,” Dbeibah said.

He hailed the security forces’ actions as “a decisive step” in the fight against “irregular” armed factions.

‘A decisive step’

Despite relative calm in recent years, clashes periodically break out between armed groups vying for territory.

In August 2023, fighting between two powerful armed groups in Tripoli left 55 dead.

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Authorities in several parts of the capital said schools would be closed on Tuesday until further notice.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya called for calm.

“UNSMIL is alarmed by the unfolding security situation in Tripoli, with intense fighting with heavy weaponry in densely populated civilian areas,” it said on X.

‘Cease fighting’

It urged “all parties to immediately cease fighting”, warning that “attacks on civilians and civilian objects may amount to war crimes.”

“UNSMIL fully supports the efforts of elders and community leaders to de-escalate the situation.”

– By: © Agence France-Presse